If I copied and pasted parts of a scientific article into a blog post, and passed it off as my own writing, what would you say about that? I hope that everyone would be appalled. What about if it was from a press release? This is something that is clearly intended for consumption by the media, but if I copy, paste and claim it is my own writing what would that be called?

This is called science churnalism:

“Churnalism is an article that is published as journalism, but is essentially a press release without much added” (From FAQ of http://www.churnalism.com)

I encourage everyone to read the Guardian article on the topic, and to visit www.churnalism.com. It is a site that compares text from news articles and press releases and highlights where text has been copied and pasted. I think it could be a very useful resource, but an additional manual check of the comparison is probably necessary to weed out false positives.

What do I think on it? As has been previously mentioned, journalism as a whole is subject to enormous time pressures and to be the first to publish. That is probably close to being something of a truism. Science journalism is no different but in my mind, copying passages verbatim from a press release is no different from plagiarism. Copying from a press release and not acknowledging this makes it very difficult to determine where reported information is coming from. I’ll leave you with a quote from Martin Robbins, who puts what he thinks of Churnalism better than I could:

“There’s nothing wrong with curating content to pass on for a wider audience – Ed Yong and I do that daily on Twitter – but if journalists aren’t contributing original reporting, or providing context, or challenging statements made by university press officers, or even just adding informed opinion, then they’re not really doing journalism. At a time when we need to develop new models to support professional journalism online, that may not be a wise path to travel too far down.” (From Guardian article 25/04/11)

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Much has been written about Martin Rees, a celebrated physicist accepting the Templeton prize at the start of April. Does Martin Rees accepting the award undermine the integrity of science? Looking through the past winners of the Templeton Prize, many recent winners certainly seem to straddle, associate, or oppose the boundaries between science and religion.

I took the opportunity to chip in on this topic since Professor Rees wrote an article in the New Statesman about the issue a few days ago. I think this particular passage summarises his views, and his entire article:

” I have no religious belief… Despite this, I continue to be nourished by the music and liturgy of the Church in which I was brought up. Just as there are many Jews who keep the Friday ritual in their home despite describing themselves as atheists, I am a “tribal Christian”, happy to attend church services.”

I think Professor Rees attempts to occupy the central ground: he is an atheist, a scientist, but not opposed towards religion: merely ambivalent perhaps? I think the particular passage above leaves him open to attack as being weak and unconvincing. However, as long as Martin Rees maintains his scientific integrity in his field in his past, present and future works, I do not see how he undermines the integrity of science. Whether or not he should have accepted the Templeton prize is in my opinion completely irrelevant. My 2 cents.

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Hope everyone had a good easter, I certainly have enjoyed the break but anyhoo, I thought I’d kick off with some ‘interesting’ science about the joys of real water. This has been well debunked in the Guardian as an example of just how bad pseudo-science can get.

To give a summary: This company is promoting a new product called E2 water. This is a special type of water that claims to fix ‘damaged water’: water that is positively charged and acidic because of all the ‘pipes, filtration systems and various systems’ that the water has to go through. In fact, the water molecules start to clump together, and the cells can’t absorb the water as well. These evil, positively charged waters also cause free radicals to form by abstracting electrons from other water molecules, and these free radicals, you know pull ‘LIFE FORCE’ away from the cell.

To fix this they add ‘hundreds of millions’ of electrons to the water that makes the water less positively charged, and more alkaline. This is good for the body and we go about our day more hydrated and just BETTER.

Let’s finish it with a direct quote from the company on just how good it’s going to get…

We must caution you, your cells have been starving for hydration for a long time (even though you drink a lot of water). With the E2TM Water Concentrate added to your water, the cells hydrate quickly and start to throw out all the accumulated toxins and other crud that they have been storing for a long time. This can result in flu-like symptoms. So take it slow at first. However once you get through the initial period, you will have never felt better.

12 1L bottles, all at the bargainous price of $28.

P.S. If you want supporting science articles for this E2 water, their website says it’ll be coming soon. Promise.

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George Monbiot1 and Helen Caldicott2 have had a series of high profile debates on the merits and risks of nuclear power. Helen Caldicott’s latest article claims that “George Monbiot and others at best misinform, and at worst misrepresent and distort, the scientific evidence of the harmful effects of radiation exposure”.

As I have interpreted it, a summary of her article is that no dose of radiation is safe (even background radiation), as this increases the risk of cancer. Radioactive nuclides remain in the environment for generations and emit high levels of radiation. Columnists such as George Monbiot, organisations such as the WHO and other ‘seemingly reputable groups’ have misinformed the public about the dangers of ionising radiation.

My observations to her article:

• I believe that if you are writing a retort about the dangers of nuclear radiation, then it should be done dispassionately. Several examples of the tone of her article show an arrogance and presumption that is entirely inappropriate. It undermines her attempts to convince the reader of her arguments.

“… George Monbiot, who has had a mysterious road-to-Damascus conversion to its supposedly benign effects”

“How nuclear apologists mislead the world over radiation”

“…Let me educate him”

• Various claims are presented without any quantitative data or any sources. Several examples:

“…No dose of radiation is safe, however small, including background radiation; exposure is cumulative and adds to an individual’s risk of developing cancer”

“many of the [radioactive] nuclides remain radioactive in the environment for generations”

“Monbiot appears ignorant about the WHO’s subjugation to the IAEA, yet this is widely known within the scientific radiation community”

My questions for Helen Caldicott:

•I understand that ionising radiation causes damage to DNA, causing genetic abnormalities that could cause tumour cells to develop. However, the body has also many repair mechanisms to repair this damage. Therefore, what is the increased risk of cancer as the result of background radiation?

Can you provide data and sources to support your claim? Where appropriate, could you also provide an analysis of the data? I believe a detailed analysis is necessary because it forms the basis for most of your arguments.

• You quote a figure of 980,000 as the number of deaths attributable to the Chernobyl meltdown, and a single study is referenced as the basis for this. George Monbiot has attacked this figure. You also acknowledge ‘various seemingly reputable groups’ have ‘differing reports’ on the incident.

Why have you used the study by Yablokov et al as your preferred study? Is there an advantage in their analysis over other studies that have caused you to pick this study? Could you provide other sources that support the data as presented as Yablokov et al?

• To my understanding, measuring nuclear activity in sieverts is a quantitative method of measuring the biological damage to humans as a result of radiation. Would you disagree with this? If not, could you provide data and primary sources that illustrate that the Fukuyama incident presents ‘a medical problem of very large dimensions’.

• Could you discuss your claim that “Monbiot appears ignorant about the WHO’s subjugation to the IAEA, yet this is widely known within the scientific radiation community” Evidence and case studies that indicate this to be true would be ideal.